January 28, 2026

We got problems, they have solutions

The first full week of working with our organizations has begun. My organization Sensing Local is buzzing with excitement for their upcoming exhibition where they will be seeking funding for over 100 community nominated improvement projects. My team has been tasked with searching through previous interviews and stitching together a short 60 to 90 second video for as many projects as we can before the exhibition occurs. Two days in and we have five full videos complete. It was slow starting but with Justin’s mad video editing wizardry we are finding our flow and picking up the pace.

Sensing local is an amazing organization that has been around for ten years, their current philosophy one of action and believe that by focusing on public space improvements that make the city more walkable more people will chose to walk and therefore have less drivers on the road resulting in not only a safer city for all but also cleaner air for everyone here too.

Making these videos has been an excellent way to see the city of Bangalore through the eyes of locals. It’s an unfiltered lens into their community and what they want to see improved. They clearly lay out what issue is affecting them, and all have solutions on how to fix it. All GCIL students know how chaotic traffic can get over here but by the end of week three I have started to get accustomed to this new norm and find it exciting crossing a busy intersection with mopeds, rickshaws, and busses zooming by. Sensing Local has reminded me that roads and the footpaths alongside them are public spaces and should be able to be accessed by all. Video after video had community members showcasing how could be footpaths were blocked by parked cars, garbage, or missing concrete exposing the wastewater running below. All these forces pedestrians to walk in the road causing traffic to narrow, resulting in bottlenecks for traffic. All this adding to the chaos of the road. Not to mention the lack of crosswalks or streetlights. India is good at making things work but I am happy to be a part of an organization that is working to ease the burden of so many all while also helping to decrease air pollution.

By,
Nathan